AnarchistArtificer

@AnarchistArtificer@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Epstein puts my morality into perspective⁩ ⁨⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  In many ways, we’re already at that point. Crises often don’t come out of nowhere, and if we think of crisis as a sliding scale rather than a binary, I would argue we’re already in a time of crisis, and have been for a while.

  That’s why I agree with you. I am often miserable and demoralised, and I often feel suicidal because of my personal hopelessness. The goodness you describe is a huge part of why I’m still here. It gives me a wider sense of hope, because many of the best people I know are just as aware of the harms caused by the unchecked power of assholes, but the worse that the world gets, the more steadfastly good they are. Most of them are as depressed as me, but they seem to draw strength from the defiance of giving a fuck about morality in a world on fire.

  It invokes a sense of duty in me that helps bolster my own resilience. When I was a suicidal teen, I felt like I was staying alive solely for other people, and this wasn’t a productive or healthy way to live. This sense of duty feels different, because it’s not framed as if I am a living martyr, sacrificing my own happiness for other people. Instead, it’s grounded in the recognition that we’re all struggling, and I actively want to stand alongside the defiant good people. Given the shakiness of my resolve, I don’t feel like I have much concrete to add to their efforts, but perhaps I can show them that even when it feels like you’re losing the big fight, the very act of resistance can galvanise the hearts of people who had already given up. After all, I’m still here.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Man carrying home his gardening tools arrested by armed police in Manchester⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  ACAB applies even for the nice and genuine cops.

  It’s about criticisms of policing as an institution, not individuals

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Polish Train Maker Is Suing the Hackers Who Exposed Its Anti-Repair Tricks⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I keep a small list titled “illegal heroes”, and these hackers are on that list. It’s bullshit that they’re being hounded like this.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨bird based storage⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I love this dude’s work. He’s so chaotic, and it makes me happy to see someone thriving by leaning in their ADHD

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨OpenAI Seeks Additional Capital From Investors as Part of Its $40 Billion Round⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  The return comes from more future promises filled with ever increasing hot air. OpenAI is especially bad for this — In 2024, they spend $9 billion to make $5 billion. They’re losing money each year, but they drum up venture capital investment by saying “invest more money because some day we’ll be profitable”. Then they build larger, more complex GPT models to continue fuelling the hype machine, even though those models cost even more to run. But as long as OpenAI and the like can sustain the hype machine, venture capital will keep pumping money in. They have to, because they’ve got too much money in the system already, and when the bubble pops, the hot air will escape.

  If they invested into something cool or meaningful, their returns will be limited. Tech seems to be especially appealing for venture capital because it facilitates the illusion of infinite growth being possible. The super rich don’t really trade in money, because they borrow against their assets. Imagine if you owned a fairly modest house that was worth 500k, but you wanted to sell it for more. If you and a bunch of other people constructed an elaborate fiction that led to your house being valued at $10 million, then you could borrow multiple millions of dollars against the inflated value of your house. Even if early investors in a bullshit project wise up and realise their mistake, they haven’t necessarily lost money as long as other investors still think the bullshit is worth investing in. So the cycle of venture capital means that everyone has a vested interest in keeping the hype train going.

  It’s an absurd bubble, and it’s going to be absolute chaos when it bursts. Ed Zitron’s analysis explores it really well.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do females got to be so hard to talk or flirt with?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  “women” is pretty widely accepted, and has been for many, many years. The reason why “females” makes people uncomfortable is because even before it was overused by online misogynists, it had an overly scientific air to it that gives bad vibes, especially if it’s being used as a noun. It’s not unreasonable for women to feel uncomfortable when being referred to using language that would be more appropriate to use for animals. The oddness of this is most stark when you see phrases like “men and females”, rather than “men and women”.

  I don’t blame people for not being aware of the connotations of using the word “female” in this way, but it seems fairly straightforward that if there’s a strong consensus that a group of people object to being called something, that it would be courteous to respect that. And even if in a year from now, “women” became as stigmatized as “female” and there was a different preferred term, then using that preferred term would also be courteous. If you don’t want to be courteous, then that’s your prerogative, but given that OP wants to talk to women, then it seems like warning him against the word “female” is useful advice.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do females got to be so hard to talk or flirt with?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s a sweet story. I hope she had a good answer to your question. If she didn’t answer it back then, you should spring it on her like “you never did tell me what it was like being the queen of analogies”. She best have a good answer, after all these years

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do females got to be so hard to talk or flirt with?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with men who take everything the wrong way, and then blow up at you for “leading them on”. That causes me, and many other women, to tend to default to being guarded when getting to know men. Even if only a small proportion of interactions end up making us feel scared for our safety, it still amounts to being frequent enough that this kind of guardedness ends up being a wise and necessary precaution for women in general.

  It sucks on many levels that this is needed. As well as being an uneasy way to exist as a woman, it also means that there’s a heckton of “false positives”, so to speak. I think that this can especially affect people who are generally socially anxious. I know that being aware of this doesn’t help you to actually figure out how to talk to women, but I’d advise you to try to not take it personally. A friend once told me that reminding himself of this fact actually helped him to feel more confident approaching women; when he was able to internalise the fact that the guardedness wasn’t necessarily aimed at him, but at assholish men who don’t respect women as people and won’t respect their boundaries (which wasn’t him), he found that it helped him to feel more at ease pushing himself out of his comfort zone.

  This problem is why it can be easier to meet women at hobbies and other organised social stuff. I used to really struggle with social anxiety in general, and I found that going to events made it much easier to get to know people, especially when the hobby in question made it easier to dip in and out of social stuff by focussing on the task at hand (board games was a big one for me)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨They even got their own island⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  In school, when I was 13, one of my friends was “dating” a 19 year old. I vividly remember how cool we all thought this was. Reflecting on it makes me feel sick.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Elder Scrolls Online devs detail “inhumane” Microsoft layoffs as Xbox expects the “carcass of workers” to “keep shipping award-winning games”⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Thanks for this, I appreciate it

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does anyone struggle with spending money foolishly on prostitutes?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m not personally Christian, but I was raised that way. I was pretty strongly anti-Christian as a result of that upbringing, but when I got to university, my stance was softened significantly by meeting wonderful Christians who were incredibly based. I remember that one of them described that they almost left the faith because of discomfort with their humanity, such as lust. In the end, they concluded that if God had made them with the ability to feel lust and enjoy lustful activities, then it felt wrong to deny this part of themselves (and indeed, they found that their lust was far more moderate and manageable when they stopped fighting themselves so much).

  I feel like lust can be good or bad, depending on the context, rather like how I find that playing video games can be good or bad. Sometimes when I game it’s fulfilling, and a good use of my time. Sometimes though, I am desperately chasing some sense of escapism in a way that I can tell is harmful to me. Perhaps your battle would be better spent learning to discern the good from the bad. For example, if you’re super tight on money, then yeah, it’s probably not a great idea to be chasing the lust. But if you have the monetary means, and you’re in a good headspace about it, then perhaps indulging is not a bad thing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨UK to lower voting age to 16⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve always found it silly that one could legally have sex with their MP, but not vote for them

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share In USA⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Which is your project?

  As an aside, your comment has hit me in a surprisingly profound way. I think it’s because it can be too easy to forget about the people behind the software we use. This is especially the case with proprietary software from big companies, but it can also happen with open source or smaller projects from individual devs. I think that it arises in part from thinking about software as a product, which neglects the messy relationality of how things are actually made, maintained and used.

  It’s sweet to see such a serendipitous exchange of appreciation. It makes the world feel smaller, but in a good way.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share In USA⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I ended up wading into the world of WINE prefixes when I tried to mod some older games. I got it working in the end, but it sure made me grateful for how easy I have it with Proton

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share In USA⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I share your enthusiasm. I wanted to learn Linux because so much scientific computing in my field relies on it, but when I dual booted, it was too easy to just retreat to Windows as the path of least resistance. I decided to fully make the switch to Linux as an attempt to force myself to learn stuff, but the big thing that held me back was nervousness about gaming.

  Turns out that this fear was completely unfounded, and I have been utterly astounded at how easy gaming on Linux was. It wasn’t completely pain free, and there were a couple times that I needed to tinker somewhat, but it was no more difficult or frequent than I needed to do similar stuff on Windows.

  I get what you mean about logging on feeling like home. Besides the scientific computing, a big part of what pushed me to Linux was how ambiently icked out I felt by using Windows — it didn’t feel like mine. Running Windows feels like renting a home from a landlord who doesn’t respect your boundaries and just comes in to make changes while you’re sleeping. Like, it’s not even about whether those changes are good or bad, but how weird it feels to constantly be reminded that this home is not truly yours.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Facebook advertised a professional child kidnapping service to me⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Thanks for sharing this. I’ve still got quite a few chapters to go, but I wanted to comment this thought before I forget it: it’s so incredibly striking how powerful the small acts of kindness are. I’ve cried more at the little gestures of kindness than at all the cruelty.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨10 incredible PC games that never got console ports—until Steam Deck happened⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Despite not owning one, I really like the Steam Deck because I suspect it has made my transition to Linux far smoother (for a while, I dual booted because I was fearful that gaming on Linux would be difficult.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨“Piracy is Piracy” – Disney and Universal team up to sue Midjourney⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  “if you can accurately call it “scraping” then it’s always fair use.”

  I think you make some compelling points overall, but fair use has always been more complex than this. The intent is taken into account when evaluating whether something is fair use, but so is the actual impact — “fair use” is a designation applied to the overall situation, not to any singular factors (so a stated purpose can’t be fair use)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨F.D.A. to Use A.I. in Drug Approvals to ‘Radically Increase Efficiency’⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I saw a paper a while back that argued that AI is being used as “moral crumple zones”. For example, an AI used for health insurance acts allows for the company to reject medically necessary procedures without employees incurring as much moral injury as part of that (even low level customer service reps are likely to find comfort in being able to defer to the system.). It’s an interesting concept that I’ve thought about a lot since I found it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨GitHub is Leaking Trump’s Plans to 'Accelerate' AI Across Government⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Ugh, Andreeson is such a creep.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨All this AI nonsense is an attempt to capitalize on the mere act of human thinking⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Many people are being forced to use it though — this is where much of the ire is coming from. These people are likely in the minority though. Something that’s much more concerning though is the use of AI that affects us, but we don’t get a say: doctors being made to use generative AI transcription tools (which perform worse than established audio transcription software that doesn’t use AI). The people pushing doctors to use AI are doing it to wring more productivity out of them — more patients in less time. This means that even if a patient doesn’t end up with AI hallucinations in their medical records, their experience seeing their doctor will likely be worse.

  Cases like this are becoming less niche as time progresses, despite mounting research showing the harms of these technologies when they’re applied in this way. Increasingly we are being put into situations where AI tools aren’t something to be used by us (which is something you can often opt out of), but things to be used on us. We don’t find out until something goes wrong, and when it does, regular people can struggle to challenge the situation (the example coming to mind here is false positives in facial recognition systems being used by the police. It is leading to more innocent people being wrongfully arrested)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Thousands of years ago, when tools were very primitive, it was probably common to have a favorite rock.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I have a favourite rock

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Looking for the perfect 5 year anniversary gift?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives More Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Even More Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives All the Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives Knives

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Welcome to the web we lost⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I am glad that he tried to assassinate 418, because the massive outcry that led to 418 being saved is something wholesome that I love.

  Link with context for anyone unfamiliar with the context: save418.com

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Building a slow web⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Something that I have enjoyed recently are blogs by academics, which often have a list of other blogs that they follow. Additionally, in their individual posts, there is often a sense of them being a part of a wider conversation, due to linking to other blogs that have recently discussed an idea.

  I agree that the small/slow web stuff is more useful for serendipitous discovery rather than searching for answers for particular queries (though I don’t consider that a problem with the small/slow web per se, rather with the poor ability to search for non-slop content on the modern web)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Building a slow web⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  With respect to the presentation of your site, I like it! It’s quite stylish and displays well on my phone.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Slrpnk instance is down till mid July; they might relaunch their server on piefed.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s baffling to me how customisable some fruit features can be. I know someone who works in plant genomics and cultivation and it’s really cool how they can use genomic analysis alongside selective breeding to select for traits. I imagine that imported papayas are cultivars that are easier to transport internationally.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Slrpnk instance is down till mid July; they might relaunch their server on piefed.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I agree. I replied to Kris elsewhere saying this, but I am super glad to have been a part of this instance because it feels like a nice balance of being large enough to be robust and diverse, but small enough to have a distinctive culture. I don’t often interact with the communities that were on the instance, but I always enjoy seeing my peers crop up in the comments of various posts — it’s one of my favourite parts of Lemmy being federated (db0 is another example of an instance that has such a distinctive vibe that seeing it as someone’s instance is often useful metadata that affects how I parse their comment)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Slrpnk instance is down till mid July; they might relaunch their server on piefed.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  (speaking as a slrpnk user): Another backup communication strategy (once things are backup) might be to designate somewhere on a non-slrpnk instance as a place where people can check for updates if things go down; when I first discovered the outage, I wasn’t sure where to go to check for info/updates.

  Unrelatedly, I hope that this unexpected outage isn’t causing you or other admins too much stress. Whilst the extended nature of this outage is unfortunate, I respect that you’re using this as an opportunity to migrate to a more robust solution. This kind of resilience focussed response is a key part of the solarpunk ethos, in my view.

  Some people have said that such a long outage seems likely to kill an instance, but for my part, this community is worth waiting for — I have enjoyed having an account on this instance because it feels like the perfect blend of small enough to have a distinct culture and ethos, but is large enough to be robust and diverse.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨iFixit says the Switch 2 is even harder to repair than the original⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I really appreciate iFixit and how they help bring the discussion of repairability to the forefront.